We cover some common and very silly mistakes we can all make as well as ways to prevent them and what to do to succeed in hvac as a new tech.
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Read all the tech tips, take the quizzes
and find our handy calculators at https://www.hvacrschool.com
We've all been new at one time or another, so there's no need to get all judgy about some of the mistakes new techs make just because they're inexperienced. However, there are some very preventable mistakes that occur due to simple oversight and carelessness that need to happen exactly zero percent of the time. The first is caps and seals being left out or off, leaving caps off is never okay, while it's true that schrader valves and backseating service valves should seal completely and shouldn't be left leaking, it's always possible that a little leakage can happen at the port. Besides, keeping bugs and dirt out of the ports is reason enough to keep the caps on bill johnson.
The original co-author of ract made a really good point on a recent podcast when a system is apparently low, which you can verify through non-invasive temperature tests, for example, suction line temperature, you shouldn't just pull off the caps and attach the gauges right away. First, look for oil at the ports and leak check the ports to eliminate port leaks as a possible cause. Once you remove the caps and attach your manifold or probes, you won't be able to know if the ports were a leak point or not. Every time i remove caps, i look inside them to make sure the seals are in place unless it's a flare, hex cap that doesn't require a seal like in a train.
It's a good practice to keep all caps and screws together and in the same place on every call. This helps to ensure they don't get accidentally knocked into the dirt lost or forgotten. Put those caps back on finger tight for caps with seals and snug down with a 9 16 wrench for hex flare caps, the next is leaving disconnects out or off. It drives us crazy as senior technicians.
Obviously nobody tries to forget the disconnect, but it still happens. All the time - and it's almost always because the tech gets in a hurry or distracted and usually both and it can be eliminated easily by some best practices. Most often the disconnect is left off or out during maintenance or during very simple repairs. This is because the tech will often run test the equipment then perform the maintenance or minor repair and leave without run testing again this order of test of clean, then repair isn't my favorite for several reasons, with silly mistakes being one of them.
I advocate for performing the comprehensive run test at the very end of the repair or maintenance, meaning you're, observing the system running right before you leave with the last action being resetting the thermostat or controls back to the desired set point. When you run tests last, you don't forget silly things that prevent the system from running always do a final walk of the job. Before leaving and check disconnects set points, then clean up and check for tools. The next area is poor electrical connections.
I see it all. The time somebody tested the capacitor and left the spade connections loose or the contactor logs, not properly torqued or the strands, have come off of one of the crimp connections. The list goes on and on here are a few of the top mistakes to avoid when forcing on a female spade on a capacitor, for example, it should be very snug if it's loose at all, pull it off and pinch down the spade sides a bit to Ensure there's a snug fit when making a crimp connection only do so on a stranded wire and use an appropriately sized connector position the jaw so that the indent crimp is made on the side of the connector opposite. The split and the barrel even better, is to use a crimper specifically designed for insulated terminals that compresses the entire barrel. I prefer to use ratcheting crimpers, never cut strands of wire to make a conductor fit under a lug use. The proper connector termination type for the conductor and it has to be the right size, never leave the exposed wire strip back insulation only to the length required to make the connection and no more don't leave connections under tension, meaning where they want to pull off use. Straps and zip ties to keep the tension away from connections so that they aren't left under a pulling or disconnecting force, make appropriate connections for the job. Never leave the connections open to the environment unless they're rated for it when making any electrical connection, always pull the connection to make sure it's a snug fit before walking away.
This is true of spade connectors or wire nuts or any type of connection you make always make sure that they don't pull apart easily. Finally, many new technicians fail to see the obvious, so much is made of good workmanship, which is how things look and diagnosis, which is figuring out what's wrong and rightfully so. However, for a new tech, nobody expects you to do the best, looking work out there or to diagnose the super difficult situation. The first time, you're expected to use common sense and spot things that are out of the ordinary or they can lead to issues.
Here's a quick list of things to look out for that. You can see with little to no experience. Look for refrigerant oil stains. Often oil, stains or residue can lead you straight to a refrigerant leak.
Then you pull out your soap bubbles to confirm, use a mirror and a flashlight to look for dirty, evaporative, coils and blower wheels. You may make a diagnosis, but you leave the system with a dirty coil or a blower wheel. So you still look silly. You don't want a senior technician to come out to replace a part and find that the system was left dirty check, the air filter and let the customer know you checked it.
A home or business owner may not know much about hvac, but they know what an air filter is and reporting. The condition back helps give them confidence. You wouldn't want to leave and then later have them find out that that that filter is still dirty watch. For rub outs on copper lines, feeder tubes, external equalizers, sensing bulbs and wires, you can often find or prevent a problem just by looking for areas of contact between tubes and or wires inspect control, wiring or thermostat wires for cuts or uv damage outside. If the weed whacker doesn't get the wire, often the sun will look for past workmanship that may be done incorrectly. Just because that fan, motor or capacitor is new doesn't mean it's the right size and wired properly, always double check your own work as well as work done by others and when, in doubt, confirm with the manual before making a repair double check. The previous diagnosis and no matter who it was made by and check that the part you have is actually the correct part before pulling the part out of the packaging, there's nothing worse than removing a compressor to find out the one you have isn't the correct one. It's also worse to actually install it and then find out.
It's not the correct one, always double check the diagnosis and the part. There are many other things that could be added to the list, but for a new tech, if you do the following, you will be on the road to success. Even if you're green first read product manuals and never stop learning use your resources to learn. When you show up on a job before and after listen carefully to senior tax and ask lots of questions, help other tax when they're in a pinch, smile and treat customers with respect, even if they don't treat you with respect, compete with yourself to do each job.
A little better than the last walk every job before you leave to make sure everything is buttoned up. That includes things like screws caps, disconnects anything that you could have missed. Ask the customer if you've done everything to their satisfaction. If and if there is anything you can improve many times, they'll tell you do all the little things with exceptional detail, cleaning drains washing condensers, etc.
Always do it with a level of detail that exceeds your peers and you will build a reputation for excellence. If you do these things, your co-workers, customers and managers will generally overlook the little mistakes you make just because you're green thanks for watching we'll catch you on the next video thanks for watching our video. If you enjoyed it and got something out of it, if you wouldn't mind hitting the thumbs up button to like the video subscribe to the channel and click, the notifications bell to be notified when new videos come out, hvac school is far more than a youtube channel. You can find out more by going to hvacrschool.com, which is our website and hub for all of our content, including tech tips, videos, podcasts and so much more.
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I put the unit caps on my manafold gauges where the hoses are stored. It is easy to find them then. Service area Ottawa??
See a lot seasoned veteran techs guilty of leaving shrader caps off…see it all the time, just pure laziness in my opinion.. drives me nuts!!
It's funny to hear about these goofy mistakes commonly made by techs, who have relatively concrete ways of inspecting their work, and then consider what we might laughingly call "management."
When I was still quite green I was having trouble figuring out an issue with a manitowoc ice machine. I called my boss. The first thing he said was, Did you read the manual? I said no. He said call me back after you read the manual. Best lesson I learned from that guy. Are you in Barrhaven ?
I hate when I find empty beer cans inside the equipment, Are you in Nepean ?
True: I have some young techs that often leave the caps loose. they'll spin the flared hex caps on finger tight at best. Fortunately they don't do any of these other things Service area Orleans??
One more that you might want to add:
GET OFF THE PHONE! I myself got distracted by a phone conversation while disconnecting from a system and , ……… well let’s just say that I’m not proud of what happened next.
Everyone makes mistakes. We were all new at one point. I always just explain what they did wrong and how to correct it. I don't get mad unless they're doing something blatantly unsafe or dangerous
Absolutely great video!
If I may add; Before condemning a compressor for being shorted or grounded, be sure and not just test at the wires at the contactor and capacitor- get down there and remove the cover or plug on the compressor and test at the terminals/lugs. There may be a CRS wire shorted to the case or tubing or perhaps a wire came loose.
Also, as a courtesy, If I am working on an AH or furnace unit in the attic, I look around and check the insulation, ventilation, any piping, ducting, electrical, maybe termites or rodents, leaky roof and so on. The customer is well impressed if you do find a problem that can be fixed before it becomes a huge problem.
47 years at HVACR and still going strong.
Tugging on electrical connections is such a simple step that so many people in any job where you might be making those connections fail to do.
The biggest thing I have found as I've matured as a tech is ignoring your pride you don't know everything and reaching out to tech support or a senior tech is not showing weakness know your limits
One of my most memorable rookie mistakes was made changing out a defective hi press sw. on a carrier rtu. The senior tech I was with saw I wasn't using a back up wrench . I snapped off the port just as he yelled NOOOOO ! That was followed by – " Go get the torch. " Woops !
It always is fun to bad mouth your fellow tech who has more experience and thinks he knows everything
Professor joe ward graduates are often guilty of this
I was a hvac tech for the last ten years of my working days and it wasn’t always easy because I wasn’t trained good when I started. Many hard days second guessing myself. I used to call up my hvac friend when I found a problem and and he would assist God Bless him, but one day he told me not to call him until I check theses ten different things. Honest that was the best advice he gave me, I started to get better after those wise words. One of my regrets about going into the hvac trade was I wished I’d started early then age 52, but then I wouldn’t have learned all my other trades. 👍 Service area Nepean??
I always always put a date on all air filters that I changed, so if I come back for a season inspection and filter hasn’t been changed when it should have I bring it to the customers attention.
Something that I don't like about this trade is that other people will shame you and call you a hack for stuff they know damn well they also did when they first started.
Great Info for apprentices and journeyman alike. Your podcast and YouTube videos have taught me a lot about the trade. Thanks
Most companies in my area, especially non union, hire people with no experience so they can pay them garbage wages while still charging a customer top dollar. As a customer educate yourself somewhat before a technician shows up then ask your technician some basic questions. If they stubble on answering your questions send them away and call a different company or request a senior technician.
All I can say is I love you 😂 your videos are shown in my trade school here in Myrtle beach. we just watched how to replace / test a capacitor.
Hey I appreciate all your hard work and time that you put on us by doing this videos and teaching us to become a better technician in the future.thank u brian👍
How about this one ? When i was an apprentice i was working across the street from the University of Miami with a Journey Man. We were doing a full refrigeration retrofit on an air source chiller. He couldn't find a 120V connection for his vacuum pump. I told him I would look around the building for a 120V socket. As i was doing that he couldn't wait any longer and used his alligator pig-tail and hooked up to a transformer on the control panel off the chiller. Big mistake. As soon as turned that vacuum pump on. The whole transformer blew up and the panel caught fire damaging several boards.
Before cutting a copper line confirm its not pressurized. In the event a live line it cut walk away frost bite is painful.
"Don't get all judgy"….LOL. Stones brother….stones..
Should be tested in position . Clean up
Question How do I handle this I go to install a gas valve that was diagnosed by another tech who supposedly was an instructor ar a local trade school I install gas valve as requested unit not working I do my troubleshooting and find hot surface igniter not functioning trace it back to circuit board tell service Manager he sends me out with another tech who responds you know what your doing why am I here in other words the senior tech if you will didnt troubleshoot properly and I got to pick up the ball cause he dropped it do I tell the tech who missed it or the service Manager or both if Im equal to the tech but dont make the same wages where do I stand Im a team player but dont believe the individual should be missing things as such like a greenhorn
Absolutely phenomenal! A great presentation most technician can benefit from. Thank you again for your devotion to help others. Are you in Kanata ?
And don't forget this one. Don't always go into a job assuming there is something wrong just because the customer is not satisfied or a previous tech says there is/ or can't find one… The hardest job is the one working on a perfectly good system. Could be under sized or something completely unrelated affecting the system.
Awesome video…
Always good advice. Looking for rubouts is something I definitely need to do more in basic checks. As for the "read the manual, learn what you can" I've had customers give me real grief about looking something up on the job. Maybe it's just the DC-area but I've had a customers literally yell at me for not knowing everything about everything with their specific complex set up I've never seen before. They didn't know anything at all about it, mind you, but expected me to have all manual details memorized. Definitely one of the more frustrating aspects of the job.
$20 says you're a hack yourself.
I appreciate your focus on excellence in your work.
Nice
Thank you for making this video.
Tired of seeing the Bluon commercial.
Thanks you help me become a better tec.
Thanks you have help me become a better tec.
I have been in this industry little over a year and I have see senior technicians doing all you said. Think the topic should have been “simple mistake an hvac technician can make”. Great speech though, very informative channel. Have you heard about Ferris university? If yes would you recommend their “hvac and energy management degree” ?
I have left the power off a few time even as a senior tech. Always see the system running before leaving the site.
CAPS LOCK ALWAYS ON… ✅
This is a great list to take any tech from good to great.
VERY good content, the only thing to add that I thought of is, As you do your final walk around check…do a tool check…make sure you have all your tools and didn't plant one somewhere. As hard as I have tried to plant one, they never take root and grow into a tool tree. lol.
Best channel ever thank you for sharing Service area Barrhaven??
Excellent advice! Are you in Orleans ?
My pet peeve is not putting all the screws back in the panel. Whether it be a 4 x 4 junction box or a panel on an outside unit.
Very good content 👌. Quality channel 👏
I may be new but I can count. That sounded like more than 4.
I WISH I had watched this video a year ago. I'm still a little green. About eight months in. I'v made ALL these mistakes at least once. But usually only once. My senior techs were only a little annoyed with me, and probably because I started to immediately do things better every time. I use the 'dummy plugs' on my manifold now for caps. I always inspect for seals now…now. The advice I would add to this video as a new tech is this: "TAKE YOUR TIME" A lot of times we solve the problem, but we'v already run up and down the attic or crawlspace like 3 times and we want to leave! DO NOT RUSH. That's how my foot slipped and went through a ceiling one summer day. It's never fun when the attic you work on only has beams and no platform, but that's no excuse. I didn't even get yelled at, I got a 'bless your heart'. Which is probably worse. lol
I made a perfect flare, but still forgot to put flare nut on first. from Korea
I love your channel. Thanks for making videos like these.